Sinker pellet splitting and line clamping device



United States Patent Ofiice 2,806,229 Patented Sept. 17, 1.957

SINKER PELLET sPLITTlNG AND LINE CLAMPING DEVICE The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in appliances for use by fishermen to split lead sinker pellets and apply the same to a fishing line.

An important object of invention is to provide a hand operated tool of this character which includes a magazine for holding the lead pellets and a pellet holder to which the pellets are fed singly under a pivoted knife blade for cutting a slit in the pellet to receive a fishing line and to provide a plunger to close the slit for attaching the pellet in 1a fixed position on the line.

Another object of the invention is to mount the magazine on a plier type tool which includes a stationary handle and a pivoted handle for actuating the cutter blade to cut a slit in the pellet by a squeezing action of the handles.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adapter at the delivery end of the magazine to accommodate lead pellet sinkers of different diameters.

A still further object is to provide a tool of this character of simple and practical construction, which is efficient and reliable in operation, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which the same is intended.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the tool; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing in detail wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of invention, the numeral 5 designates a casting which is suitably fixed at the front end of a handle 6, preferably of tubular construction. The casting 5 is formed with a longitudinal bore 7 in which the front end of a tubular magazine 8 is inserted. The rear end of the magam'ne is closed by the cap 9 which is secured to the rear end of handle 6 by a screw 10 which is threaded into a plug 11 at the rear end of the handle. The magazine 8 is adapted to hold a number of lead pellets 12 which are loaded into the rear end of the magazine upon removal of the cap 9 and the magazine is preferably of plastic or other transparent material in order that the contents of the magazine may be visually determined.

A tubular adapter 13 is removably fitted in the front end of the bore 7 in front of the magazine 8 and into which the pellets are fed from the magazine, and the adapter is formed with a longitudinal bore 14 of a diameter substantially equal to the size of the pellet 12 so that pellets are fed successively into the adapter 13. The

adapter is secured in position in the bore 7 by a set screw 15. i

A pellet holder 16 projects forwardly .at the lower portion of casting 5 under the front end of the adapter 13, and the upper surface of the holder is formed with a concave seat 17 into which the pelletsv are deposited singly from the adapter 13 for supporting the pellets on the holder 16. The pellet is clamped in position on the seat 17 by a rectangular shaped plunger 18 which is. slidable forwardly and rearwardly in an inverted U-shaped member 19 which is secured in a straddling position over the holder 16 by a bolt and nut 19a. The plunger is actuated by a thumb screw 20 which is threaded into the front end of the holder 16, and a conical extension 20a is formed at the rear end of the thumb screw for rotation in 1a dovetail recess 18a in the front end of the plunger 18 to connect the thumb screw thereto. The rear end of the plunger is beveled as shown at 21 at an angle to hold the pellet downwardly on the sheet 17, as shown more clearly in Figure 2 of the drawing.

A substantially U-shaped member 22 includes a pair of spaced apart side walls 23 and 24 which are positioned at opposite sides of the casting 5 and pivoted thereto by a bolt and nut or pin 25 which extends transversely through the casting and the sides of the member 22. The member 22 projects below the casting 5 and a handle 26, preferably of tubular construction is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the lower portion of the member 22. The handle 26 underlies the magazine 8 and is closed at its rear end by a threaded plug 27.

The upper front portion of member 22 is formed with a cross bar 28 to which a flange 29 at the upper edge of a cutting blade 30 is secured by a screw 31 to support the blade in a downwardly projecting position in front of casting 5 and with the lower cutting edge 32 of the blade directly above the pellet when supported on seat 17.

The handle 26 which is fixed to the pivoted member 22 is moved toward or away from the magazine 8 to raise and lower blade 30 and as the blade is raised the foremost pellet 12 in adapter 13 may drop onto seat 17 of pellet holder 16 and the pellet is held in position thereon by the plunger 18. The blade 30 is then swung downwardly by a squeezing action of handles 6 and 26 to cut a slit in the pellet. The lower end of screw 31 serves as a stop 33 which strikes the top of casting 5 to gauge the depth of the slit and to prevent the pellet from being cut in half.

After the slit has been cut in the pellet the blade 30 is then raised and a fishing line (not shown) is then placed in the slit and thumb screw 20 is tightened to clamp the pellet against the front end of casting 5, which serves as an anvil, to close the slit for securing the pellets to the line.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A pellet sinker splitting tool comprising a pair of handles pivotally connected to each other, a magazine carried by one handle and having a pellet delivery front end, a pellet holder carried by said one handle and to which the pellet is delivered, a cutting blade carried by the other of said handles and actuated by the latter for engagement with the pellet to cut a slit therein, and a pellet clamping device engaging and securing the pellet on the holder in the path of the blade.

2. The construction of claim 1 wherein said clamping the slit.

3. The construction of claim 1 wherein said clamping device includes a screw pressure actuated plunger engagingthe pellet to clampthe pellet on the holdertand to subsequently close the slit after retraction of the blade.

4. A pellet sinker splitting tool comprising a casting, a

handle fixed to the casting, a magazine also fixed to the V casting and positioned parallel to the handle and having a delivery end, a second handle, means pivotally connecting the second handle to the casting, a pellet holder supported by the casting under the delivery end of the magazine and onto which pellets 'are delivered singly,

. 4 means carried by the holder for securing a pellet thereon, and a cutter secured to the pivoted handle and actuated by the latter into engagement. with the pellet to cut a slit therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,618,994 Frazee Nov. 25, 1952 2,722,146 Byrem Nov. 1, 1955 2,723,403 Miller Nov. 15, 1955 2,765,686 Deline Oct. 9, 1956 2,765,687 Stanfield Oct. 9, 1956 

